By Tray Mason
Correspondent

The Kings Fork Bulldogs (11-6, 9-3) defeated the Western Branch Bruins (12-5, 9-4) 51-35 in a physical, hard fought game Friday evening.

With both teams struggling to score, the Bulldogs looked to their defense to carry them on the road in front of raucous Bruin crowd. King’s Fork led 8-3 after the first quarter, only allowing one Bruin field goal.

Rod Parrett provided a spark off the bench for the Bulldogs, making two consecutive three-point field goals early in the second to give KF a 14-3 lead.

Momentum seemingly shifted to the Bruins after a dunk from C.J. Thomas with two minutes remaining in the half, cutting the KF lead to 16-8. Parrett would respond, nailing another three-pointer from the corner as time expired, giving his team a 21-9 lead.

The Bulldog offense picked up in the second half, scoring on their first three possessions of the third quarter, forcing a WB timeout.

“We executed better in the second half,” Bulldogs head coach Josh Worrell said. “We were able to dictate what we wanted to do and not let them dictate us.”

The Bruins managed to cut the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter, but stellar play from Zach Johnson helped close the game for the Bulldogs.

At one point in the fourth, Johnson scored seven straight points for KF after struggling in the first half. He would finish with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks.

“He’s just a kid that works hard and never gives up,” Worrell said. “He just makes things happen.”

The Bulldogs would close the game on a 9-3 run. It was a big win for the team, which avoided a letdown following a heartbreaking 59-56 loss to first-place Great Bridge on Thursday.

KF will play only once next week, hosting Oscar Smith Friday at 7:30 p.m.